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St. Albert candidate Clark hopes to improve on 2021 result in '25

Paralegal came within 250 votes of council seat in last election
clark
Sandy Clark is running for St. Albert city council again in 2025. She placed seventh in 2021.

While no incumbent city councillors have registered as candidates in the 2025 election, they already have competition.

The election period officially opened on Halloween, Oct. 31. Sandy Clark, a paralegal who serves on the subdivision appeal and assessment review boards, was the first to toss her hat in the ring Dec. 12.

Clark came within 250 votes of being a city councillor in 2021, placing seventh behind Coun. Shelley Biermanski (6,278) and Coun. Mike Killick (6,376).

Born elsewhere in the Capital Region, she came to St. Albert in 2014. She and husband Glenn “have a blended family of children and grandchildren.”

She has worked for private law firms and not-for-profits, and said she stands for “strong leadership, fiscal responsibility, collaboration, transparency and good governance.”

Clark believes the greatest challenge facing the city will be funding infrastructure that keeps up with growth.

“I’m thinking specifically of access to emergency services as the recent report that St. Albert lags behind on response times is extremely concerning to me.”

Clark said governments shouldn’t be borrowing so much and burdening the future with the payments.

“Over the past number of years across many jurisdictions, not only St. Albert, governments have tried to be everything to everybody,” she said. “In a world where there are only so many dollars to go around, and there is a disdain for large increases in residential property taxes year after year, hard decisions have to be made to ensure viability into the future.”

She said property owners have hit the “threshold of acceptance” when it comes to successive tax hikes.

“With the cost-of-living increases seen in the last few years, many are having to change spending habits to be able to afford the necessities and it is incumbent upon governments to do the same.”

Asked what St. Albert is missing, Clark responded that as a city councillor, it would be her job to take cues from her constituents.

“While I believe in fiscal responsibility, I also acknowledge that St. Albert is missing additional recreational facilities as well as other ‘would like to haves,’ which would better serve our community.”

Clark said council should support efforts to improve the affordable housing stock, not necessarily lead them.

“I do have a concern when a request for an amendment to an Area Structure Plan to increase density does not ultimately result in more affordable housing for St. Albert and would encourage developers to work with the city to ensure more affordability within St. Albert,” she said.

Clark believes investing in the Lakeview Business District was the right decision. She said she heard a lot of good ideas from business owners during the last campaign, and that her ears are still open.

“It is incumbent upon the next city council to listen, evaluate and implement the changes that will be beneficial to the business community, and I would like to hear from business owners on how the next city council and I as a potential councillor could better support business in St. Albert.”

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